This is a replay of week six when the Seahawks won 30-28 in St. Louis. Alexander was gone then and Hasselbeck played but this time around even he won't be there. But Seneca Wallace has been improving and the Seahawks haven't lost enough in the passing game to let this one slip past. The Rams were looking great this year but now have dropped their last three straight games despite getting a nice offensive effort. The Seahawks can extend their NFC West lead to two full games over the Rams with a win here and this is a must win for St. Louis. But the Seahawks have already beaten them this year, are back at home this week with an offense that is getting used to playing without Alexander and Hasselbeck.

St. Louis Rams (4-4)

1

18-10

DEN

10

---

@SEA

2

13-20

@SF

11

---

@CAR

3

16-14

@ARZ

12

---

SF

4

41-34

DET

13

---

ARZ

5

23-20

@GB

14

---

CHI

6

28-30

SEA

15

---

@OAK

7

Open

Bye

16

---

WAS

8

24-38

@SD

17

---

@MIN

9

17-31

KC

-

-

MON

STL vs SEA

Rush

Catch

Pass

QB

Marc Bulger

0

0

300,3

RB

Steven Jackson

80

50

0

TE

J. Klopfenstein

0

20

0

WR

Torry Holt

0

100,2

0

WR

Isaac Bruce

0

80

0

WR

Kevin Curtis

0

40,1

0

PK

Jeff Wilkins

1 FG

3 XP

-

Pregame Notes: After scaring the fantasy world by showing up this year with a defense, the Rams are back into more familiar territory once again. The passing game is top-notch and Bulger looks better than ever. Holt is still a top wideout in the NFL and even Steven Jackson has been cranking up the fantasy points all thanks to a defense that has given up 30+ points in four of the last five games. Maybe not ideal for Rams fans but a wonderful thing in the world of fantasy football.

Quarterback:Marc Bulger has thrown for over 300 yards in five of his last six games and currently has 13 touchdowns at the mid-point of the season. That includes multiple scores in four of the last five outings. Bulger threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns against the Seahawks in week six. As if this is not enough - and it should be - consider his most amazing stat of all. After 290 pass attempts this year he has thrown just one interception. Of course, the lone pick went to Seattle...

Running Backs:Steven Jackson is having a career year as he becomes more and more comfortable with his role in the offense. He has not run for more than 100 yards in any game since week two but who cares - he has been catching so many passes that he still tops 100 yards in almost every game and even comes off a career high 13 catches for 133 yards last week against the Chiefs. Jackson has scored in four of the last five games including the previous match-up against the Seahawks. His only game of the season without 100 total yards? When he ran for 56 yards on 20 carries against Seattle but he still added 40 yards on seven catches.

Tony Fisher injured his knee on a first-quarter kickoff return, and it thought to be an ACL injury. His absence could mean even more passes to Jackson.

Wide Receivers:Torry Holt comes off two straight weeks of 50 yards or less without scoring which was a big change from the five straight weeks he reached the end zone at least once each game. Despite the lesser production from the last two weeks, Holt still remains one of the highest scoring wideouts and now faces the same defense that already gave him a season high of 154 yards and three scores in week six. Isaac Bruce has picked up some of the slack from Holt with games of 105 and 61 yards recently though he only had 45 yards against the Seahawks earlier this year. What the Rams are finally getting around to is incorporating Kevin Curtis into the mix. Curtis has scored in three of the last four games and is getting as many or more looks than Bruce lately.

Tight Ends:Joe Klopfenstein may end up a good one eventually, but that isn't going to happen this year with one catch per week.

Match Against the Defense: The Seattle defense has been mostly decent against the run this year and Jackson couldn't get much earlier against them so expect a slightly lower rushing yard total here but for his role in the passing game to remain very strong.

Bulger has been on a tear and there's no doubt he should do well again going against a team that already allowed him his best game of the season. Have to love the chance this game turns into a shootout and Bulger has the ammo to reach yet another 300 yard game with at least two scores if not three. That favors the wideouts of course though even Jackson could score on a pass here. Holt ripped them apart the last time but it's not like he was a surprise. Expect a great effort here from him and for Bruce and Curtis to split the rest.

RANKS (1-32, 1 = BEST)

TEAM

QB

RB

WR

TE

PK

DEF

Gaining Fantasy Points

STL

6

12

2

25

3

23

Preventing Fantasy Points

SEA

17

16

23

17

10

24

Seattle Seahawks (5-3)

1

9-6

@DET

10

---

STL

2

21-10

ARZ

11

---

@SF

3

42-30

NYG

12

---

GB

4

6-37

@CHI

13

---

@DEN

5

Open

Bye

14

---

@ARZ

6

30-28

@STL

15

---

SF

7

13-31

MIN

16

---

SD

8

28-35

@KC

17

---

@TB

9

16-0

OAK

-

MON

THU

SEA vs STL

Rush

Catch

Pass

QB

Seneca Wallace

20

0

220,2

RB

Maurice Morris

100,1

0

0

RB

Mack Strong

10

20

0

TE

Jerramy Stevens

0

20

0

WR

Darrell Jackson

0

70,1

0

WR

Deion Branch

0

70,1

0

WR

D. J. Hackett

0

30

0

PK

Josh Brown

2 FG

3 XP

-

Pregame Notes: The Seahawks come off a short week after dismantling the Raiders and it appears that Hasselbeck is out and even Alexander will likely miss at least one more week. But the Seahawks already won in St. Louis using Hasselbeck and back at home, Wallace is getting comfortable. This game is bound to be a shootout and that means fantasy points for everyone. A win here give the Seahawks a two game lead with only SF and GB coming up.

Quarterback:Seneca Wallace still hasn't turned in more than 198 passing yards in a game this year but he finally corrected his interception problem last week against the Raiders and threw one score. Wallace showed in Kansas City that he could move this offense when he had three passing touchdowns with 198 yards. Wallace won't do much more than he needs, but against the Rams passing attack, he'll need to start throwing early and often this week.

Matt Hasselbeck is at least one week away from returning from his sprained knee. The team is not going to rush him back and with two soft games looming after this one, Hasselbeck may not be a factor in fantasy terms until week 13 in Denver.

Hasselbeck had 268 yards and three scores in St. Louis this season.

Running Backs: It appears that Shaun Alexander's foot is not healing as quickly as expected and he likely will miss at least this game as well. In fact, HC Mike Holmgren has recently backed off saying exactly when he expects to get Alexander back on the field. He could miss more games unfortunately.

Maurice Morris had been a big step down until last week when he gained 138 yards on 30 carries against the Raiders. He only had 74 yards on 23 runs earlier in St. Louis this year and that had been his high game. Morris needs the Rams to get a big lead and let him rack up enough carries to get significant fantasy value and that isn't likely this week. Morris still has not scored this year.

Wide Receivers:Darrell Jackson comes off his worst game of the year, gaining only 36 yards on five catches against the Raiders while Deion Branch continues to make inroads into the game plan with four catches for 61 yards and one score last Monday. Branch had six catches for 76 yards and two scores in the previous meeting with the Rams while Jackson turned in 94 yards and one score.

The most surprising development here has been D.J. Hackett in the slot. He had 58 yards on four catches last week and scored against the Chiefs. He is easily outplaying Nate Burleson who has just two catches for 40 yards over the last four games. Given that trend, I am now projecting for Hackett and not Burleson. This could change back once Hasselbeck returns because Hackett is used to playing with Wallace on the second team.

Tight Ends:Jerramy Stevens finally made the highlight clips but not from his production (he had no catches last week). Stevens caught a knee in the groin on Monday night from Tyler Brayton in retaliation to previous indiscretions he had evidently been serving on him. So far Stevens return to the team in week seven has been little more than a groin shot.

Match Against the Defense: The Rams are very soft against the run and Morris at home is looking better. The Seahawks will undoubtedly want to run this week just to keep Bulger off the field, so expect a moderate to good game here. The Rams have given up ten rushing scores already this year, so Morris should manage his first one on the year in this game.

Wallace goes against a secondary that always allows at least one passing score if not more. In every road game this year, opponents have thrown just one score but mainly because they have run so well. Look for two scores here and good but not great yardage thanks to wanting to run the ball more.